The Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) has recently started a separate 15-bed high-dependency unit (HDU) for patients who become stable after their treatment in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).
GIMS director Dr Rakesh Gupta said HDU wards are for people who need more intensive observation, treatment and nursing care than is possible in a general ward but slightly less than that given in ICUs.
The ICU at GIMS can accommodate up to 20 patients at a time.
“This HDU is a step-down, progressive and intermediate care unit. The ratio of nurses to patients may be slightly lower than that in the ICU, but higher than in most general wards. Patients will spend varying lengths of time in the HDU, depending on the nature of their illness,” he said.
He further said the main difference between an ICU and an HDU is their nurse to patient ratio. “Usually an ICU patient requires one-to-one nursing care, but an HDU patient requires one nurse for every two patients. However, both the units are advanced than the normal ward, where only two nurses look after up to 30 patients,” Dr Gupta said.
He added before the patients are discharged from the ICU and sent to the HDU, they will undergo a health check better known as a short clinical assessment. “It is to identify any physical or psychological problems, the likelihood of any problems developing in the future and the current rehabilitation needs of the patients,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He added before the patients are discharged from the ICU and sent to the HDU, they will undergo a health check better known as a short clinical assessment. “It is to identify any physical or psychological problems, the likelihood of any problems developing in the future and the current rehabilitation needs of the patients,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The GIMS director also said opening an HDU is a good thing for the hospital and its patients.
“For patients, especially those who have spent over a week in the ICU, being transferred to HDU is a sign of progress. It means they were improving, gradually establishing more normal eating and sleeping patterns, and a step closer to going home. HDU reflects the progress they made in terms of their abilities to walk and communicate. The HDU gives the patient a good transition period than getting transferred straight to the general ward from the ICU,” he said.
Dr Gupta further said that keeping in mind the daily average influx of patients in the outpatient department (OPD)—which is over 2,000 out of whom over 200 patients are admitted in the hospital— the GIMS will soon begin a paid OPD as well. “Since, we now have an adequate number of specialist doctors in medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology, ophthalmology, paediatrics, and other departments, we will soon start a paid OPD in the hospital,” he said.
The process to introduce an e-library to help the medical college upgrade its knowledge management system for its students and faculties has already begun, he said. “The e-library will be running soon.”